Chapter Text
Memorial Beach
It was the first thing she remembered, before her mother's voice, and her own name. The salt had long settled in the stitching of her clothes and the soft curl of her hair. The waves were a rhythm she knew by heart. Most of the kids she knew seemed to take it for granted, remembering it only when they needed a backdrop for a photo. It wasn't like El was too proud for that. But sometimes it seemed like she felt it deeper than anyone. In the ocean, she found her footing.
The world on land was where she felt adrift.
She felt too small and too big among a town that felt like watchful eyes, poised for ridicule, even when she was alone. And over a year out of high school, she'd ought to be over that by now. But that was precisely the problem. Most of her peers, for better or worse, had moved on to the next part of their lives. And she was still here. Waiting for a sense of direction to wash up at her feet.
A chilly breeze swept past her shoulders. The sun was setting, and the beach was getting darker. She was on for dinner tonight, and her mama would be home soon.
She dipped her toes in the cold water one last time before making her way to the boardwalk, where she sat on a bench to put her shoes back on. Midway through tying the laces, she looked up at an abrupt clattering sound.
Twenty yards away, a girl bent down to pick up a skateboard, cursing under her breath. She wore a red zip-up and jean shorts. With one hand, she held the skateboard against her leg and used the other to brush her ginger hair from her face. Her eyes met El's.
For a moment, El froze. Something about the girl had caught her off guard. Maybe her intense stare, as if to say, what are you looking at?
El raised her hand in a friendly wave. The girl stood there for a moment, the breeze gently tousling her long hair. Then she began walking towards her.
El stood up and immediately felt self-conscious.
The girl's face was obscured in the fading light as she stopped in front of El. She held out her hand.
"Hi. I'm Max."
Cautiously, El shook her hand. It was warm and her palms were rough.
"My name's El. It's nice to meet you." She dropped the handshake, her eyes flicking to Max's before resting on the ocean.
Max followed her gaze, turning toward the sunset. "Are you from around here?" she asked.
The last of the sun revealed a smattering of freckles on Max's cheek. It was easier, for some reason, to look at her in profile. "Yes," El said. "You?"
"No," Max said, still looking at the ocean. El tilted her head. She wanted to ask, where was she from? But the words didn't quite form in her mouth. Chances were, she was probably from a wealthy Boston suburb, here for a week or two on vacation. But the way her shoulders hunched made El think that wasn't the case.
Max turned back to face her, and took her skateboard out from under her arm. "Well, it was nice to meet you," she said. "Maybe we'll see each other around." She dropped the skateboard.
"See you," El said, and watched as Max stepped onto the board and skated away, the wheels bumping on the grooves between the planks. El looked back down at her shoe, half untied, the image of Max lingering in her mind's eye as the waves continued to crash.